Normal Life is Crazy
by everglades-cat
Summary: The kids have finished Sburb, and everything has gone back to normal. At least, John thinks so until he finds out he has a few underlying problems that quickly escalates into something much worse... mental institution, John/HumanKarkat
1. Chapter 1

[Hey guys, I'm sorry I deleted the initial story, I'm dumb as fuck and am really rusty with this site. I noticed there were a bunch of spacing errors and I decided to fix that. Anyways, here's the fixed chapter.]

It was finally over.

The game that had rent all previously conceived notions about their universe apart had finally ended, and the 4 humans had been returned to their original lives, as if nothing had happened. It was a confusing sort of victory, to be rewarded with a simple return to the way things had been before the game, but to the children, it was perhaps the greatest gift they could have wished for. To no longer deal with the nightmare that was Jack, the pain of losing loved ones, the confusion and frustration of winding through the intricately-wound fabric of the Incipisphere... Indeed, such an arduous journey had affected each of the children differently, the most prominent change of all being their transition from youth to maturity. Of course, the game had left many other, more sinister effects on each person...

John had last recalled completing the Scratch, the hard reset, and he, along with his other friends, had all worried whether they would be erased from existence once it was completed... That wasn't the case, however. As John let himself be swallowed up by the dissolving universe, the last thing he could recall from the ending Sburb session was a violent, intense ripping sensation that traveled into him, through him, and all around him... He had cast a final glance to his other friends, and the surviving trolls, on that tiny meteor they've come to know as their safe haven from the super-powered demon, and he tried to smile for them, to let them know it was all going to be okay... It's hard to be sincere to others when you yourself aren't sure about what will happen, though... John had to close his eyes, things were falling apart and peeling into ribbons, thousands of tiny strands multiplying and ripping-

"Son? Wake up, now, you've been asleep all morning..."

John's eyes snapped open, and he gasped as if he hadn't ever breathed before.

His blurry eyes raced around in his skull, taking in the familiar sight of his movie poster-adorned walls, his furniture, and... his father, who was alive and well, his passive gaze baring down onto his son. "Are you alright, John?" he asked, wondering if his son was waking from a nightmare. His worries were assuaged, though, as John looked up at him, and a wide grin broke out on the boy's face. "I've never been better, Dad," he said, and quickly climbed out of bed to grab his father into a tight hug. Mr Egbert was unsure why John was suddenly so affectionate, but he still smiled and pet John's black, ruffled hair, and said in a warm voice, "I'm glad, Son."

After John prepared himself for the day (such an odd, mundane sensation), he quickly hopped onto his computer and opened Pesterchum. He noticed the Sburb game data had disappeared from his hard drive, and he did not miss it in the least. When he signed on, he saw the 3 other names of his friends, but none of the trolls' chumhandles... John frowned; he was going to miss those strange and silly aliens... Focusing on his friends' chumhandles for now, though, John noticed that Rose was the only one who seemed to be online at the time. He supposed because her timezone was later than his.

Regardless, he was not picky about who to speak to, and abruptly opened a chat window and tried to contact her.

ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

EB: uh...

EB: hey rose?

EB: man i hope you're there...

TT: Yes I am, John.

TT: Though judging by your messages I'm supposing you're as confused as I am, regarding the reset business.

EB: yeah, what's with that?

TT: I'm afraid I know as much as you at the present, although I must admit I'm quite relieved we have not been obliterated from existence.

TT: We have gone through a rather considerable amount of circumstances, it would have been a shame to throw away all we have learned and experienced.

EB: heheh yeah.

EB: i guess that means dave and jade are okay too!

TT: Indeed, that seems to be the case.

TT: Although...

EB: what?

TT: Oh, never mind. You wouldn't wish to indulge your current thoughts on the matter to me.

EB: what matter?

TT: Well... I'm beginning to think things may not turn out as well as you may expect them to.

EB: what do you mean by that?

TT: How do you feel right now, John?

EB: oh jeez.

TT: I am simply asking as your friend, nothing else.

TT: My clipboard is far from within arm's reach and, much to my dismay, it seems my resource of good note-taking pens has been completely depleted.

TT: Besides, my concern for you shockingly overrides my interest in psycho-analysis.

TT: For the moment.

EB: haha okay well...

EB: i guess i can't say much, except i feel fine!

EB: i'm glad we weren't erased too.

EB: and i have my dad back!

EB: why, are you not feeling okay or something?

TT: I certainly have no reason to.

TT: I am back here with my mother, who has proven herself to be quite unchanged.

EB: uh, that's good.

EB: i guess?

EB: anyways, my dad wants me to come downstairs for breakfast.

EB: i'll let you know if i have any weird feelings.

EB but i doubt it!

TT: Indeed.

TT: Have a nice day, John.

EB: see ya!

ectoBiologist [EB] has ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

Rose retreated from her computer after John closed their chat, wandering over to the window and looking out at the familiar landscape. The forest was unmarred, and the lab next door was still fully intact. Her productive mind processed the conversation she just had. Being a Seer in the game had greatly magnified her ability to analyze, and even with her god tier now stripped from her, she had learned much from it. She had observed each of her friends very carefully throughout the session, and couldn't help but draw theories that they were more deeply affected by the game than they may know at the moment...

Her theories were very often right.

John had a cheerful breakfast with his father, who didn't seem to notice that he had also been part of a great struggle, and even died... John tried not to stare at his father's torso, in the spot he had been stabbed to death... His father casually mentioned that John had school tomorrow, and that he was quite

proud of the grades his son was upholding. Of course, he was unaware that John was gazing at him in confusion. School? That seemed so... insignificant, compared to what he had been through... But John had little choice but to comply to his daily regime again, and he couldn't help but feel relieved that he was now able to enjoy such simple things in life again.

The next day, John was waiting at his bus stop as usual, looking at the trees and remembering the strange, glowing blue trees from his Land... He sighed; he felt a few glubbing salamanders might make his wait a little more enjoyable than the other few young teens waiting quietly along with him.

After they arrived at school, John realized he had to wrack his memory to remember which classes he had. Homeroom, then Biology... Wait no, then Math, THEN Biology... But what was his homeroom again?... John spent so long re-familiarizing himself with his schedule that he arrived in his homeroom 10 minutes late. He simply took his seat, giving a soft, nervous laugh to the teacher. She didn't say anything, knowing John was not usually this late, and let him pull out his class supplies as she continued giving them a layout of their week's assignments. John found the mundane security of the classroom to be unnerving, though. Something was bound to happen... How was he able to see the meteors coming when he was stuck inside this small classroom? Nervously, John looked up at the clock on the wall. It had only been a few minutes since he had come into class, but it had also only taken a few minutes for him to realize his home would be destroyed... An air conditioner revved to life above them, and John felt ice flow through his veins in fear. It was happening again. The Reckoning was happening all over again, and he was nowhere near his house, only in this tiny, cramped classroom, with nothing, no items, no alchemization equipment, nowhere to escape... John glanced at the other students, who were perfectly calm and absorbed in their own work. Looking down at his own hands, now, he could see they were trembling, and the urge to cry out, to let someone KNOW, was rising...

The teacher noticed John was merely staring at his desk, and passively said, "John, may I ask what you're doing?" John jumped as he looked up at his teacher and, despite his panic, he merely strained a smile and said, "Just... reading..." he was frightened by how breathless he was, since speaking seemed to require a lot more air than usual... Come to think of it, so did breathing in general. John was unable to focus on the teacher's words, finding his breath hitching to a more shallow and desperate pattern. He wasn't used to this, he could always control air, he was the damn Heir of Breath... John felt his hands close up, his whole body felt like it was being strained, electrocuted, dipped in ice... He vaguely heard someone saying, "I think John's choking!" before he fell forward, leaning on the surface of the desk, now outright gasping and dripping tears onto his desk, feeling like he was going to die, it was any moment before they'd all be killed in a fiery hail... He was vaguely aware of someone pulling him up from his desk. The teacher was trying to get him to walk, to take him to the clinic, but John felt like he was standing on a floating plane, the world tilting and spinning too madly for him to make it past a few steps. He was suddenly on the ground, laying on his side, breathing so fast and shallowly but not getting a bit of the air he needed...

The teacher got onto the ground beside John, holding onto the trembling, sobbing boy and trying to calm him down. She knew he wasn't choking, but instead having a panic attack, something she had experienced herself before. She gave John a small plastic bag and told him to breathe into it, rubbing his back with her hand and muttering calmly. John did as he was told, feeling her comforting touches reaching through his fear, feeling the air returning to his lungs, his body unwinding slowly... His classmates were all watching, muttering worriedly to each other, and the teacher said to them, "John's going to be okay, go back to what you were doing." There was no chance of them complying to her request by now, but she wasn't very concerned about that for the time being. She stayed by John until his breathing returned to a more normal state, and then asked one of the students to volunteer to escort John to the clinic.

The visit to the clinic was practically useless by then, where John's temperature was taken, and various health-related questions were asked. It all amounted to nothing, his health returned to normal. Regardless, the clinician asked John whether he felt up to returning to class. Still feeling like he had an intense head cold, John shook his head and averted her gaze as she called Mr Egbert up, feeling shameful for having such an intense reaction for such a ridiculous reason...

Mr Egbert came in to pick his son up, walking out of the school with his hand on John's shoulder after speaking with the school's clinician. "You had a panic attack, Son?" he asked, his voice heavy with paternal concern. John grinned, a little more easily than before, and said, "I guess so, but it's no big deal, just something stupid..." His dad didn't like that answer, saying, "Now John, there are some things you have to tell your dad, especially if it's causing you this much trouble. Will you please tell me?" John stopped walking as they reached Mr Egbert's car, thinking hard for a moment. How could he tell his father what he had been through, when it was such an incredibly abstract and unbelievable journey? John said, "I'm fine, really. I just wasn't feeling good at the time, but I'm fine now." His father didn't seem all the way convinced, but nodded and said, "If there's anything you'd like to talk about, just lemme know. I'll always be there for you, Son."

That last statement made John feel a little sick to his stomach.

Later on that day, after John and his dad arrived home, he spent a little while downstairs before heading up to his room, flopping onto his bed and looking up at the wall. Around him, there were his subconscious wall scribbles, the startling discovery of them now so bland and predictable... He wished he hadn't marred such great gifts, or at least wished he couldn't see them again... Stupid game, stupid Incipisphere, stupid Skaia... John's gaze drifted to the computer, and the memory of his conversation with Rose yesterday resurfaced. That darn creepily-accurate girl... John slid out of his bed and flicked his desktop on, habitually moving the cursor over to Pesterchum and signing in.

ectoBiologist [EB] has begun pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

EB: hey rose?

TT: Greetings, John.

TT: You are usually not online at this time during a school day.

TT: May I ask why you're on so early?

EB: well, uh...

EB: this is kinda embarrassing.

TT: I assure you, I will treat what you say with utter non-discrimination.

EB: heheh, thanks.

EB: but anyways...

EB: i dunno how you know something was gonna happen, but earlier today i totally flipped the fuck out during class.

EB: it just came out of nowhere!

TT: May I ask what caused such a reaction, John?

EB: i dunno, the whole reckoning thing, i guess.

EB: for a second i thought it was happening all over again!

EB: pretty stupid, huh?

TT: Not really, actually.

TT: I was expecting something of the sort to happen to one of us, eventually.

EB: really?

TT: Yes, I'm afraid so.

TT: It's only natural to feel a certain amount of psychological strain after what you've been through.

EB: yeah but i really freaked out.

EB: i thought i really was gonna have to go through all that again, right in the middle of school!

EB: and then i couldn't breathe and stuff, it was really weird and kinda painful...

TT: You had a panic attack, then?

EB: the teacher told me i did, but i feel like it was more like me being a total wimpy wuss.

TT: A panic attack certainly doesn't constitute as being wimpy, John.

TT: You must not try to excuse this, for it is merely a warning that something much worse may be at hand.

EB: like what?

TT: I'd rather not say, honestly.

TT: In the meantime, why don't you try to relax? Take a walk, perhaps, open spaces might be beneficial to you at this time.

EB: okay, that sounds good right now.

EB: thanks, rose! i'll talk to you later.

TT: You're very welcome.

TT: Do take care, John.

EB: heheh, i will.

ectoBiologist [EB] has ceased pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]

John had waited until the time his middle school would let students out, in order to keep from getting in trouble, and then slipped on a light jacket and shoes. It was a cool and breezy spring day, the same time that they had left Earth like nothing had happened. John would always remember, though, the intense strifes, the struggle to survive, the taxing ordeals... Trying to push those thoughts out of his head, John idly strolled along until he came across a park, a smile playing onto his face. He had missed his town, it really was a peaceful place. He walked along the sidewalk, enjoying the light breeze and listening to kids playing, birds singing, dogs barking... John was too busy watching the playing kids to notice a young man with a terribly familiar-looking dog with him. The dog itself was a rescue animal, a big cheery black lab mix that had been through much in its life. Having been struck by some kind of large metal animal, it didn't mind that it now only had one eye to see through. Smelling was so much more interesting anyway! As for its missing front leg, well, it had 3 more to run and play with! It was quite happy with its owner, enjoying the smells and sounds of the park and eagerly tugging its way around on the leash. The young man was busy gazing at a few jogging women to notice his dog wanted to venture on, and quite suddenly he had no hold on his dog's leash anymore. Feeling its owner's hand gone from the leash, the dog began to run happily across the field, spotting an alone boy and running towards him. John heard tags jingling behind him, and when he saw the large black animal barreling right for him, he immediately remembered the evil,

indestructible carapacian... John felt fear strike him and began to run, which was a mistake, since it only made the dog believe he was playing chase. John looked behind him just in time to see the dog jump at him, tripping the both of them up and causing John to tumble into the grass. John whipped around and launched a desperate kick at the dog, his foot catching the poor animal across the shoulder. The dog yiped and snapped at John's foot, and all reason fled John's mind as he suddenly tackled the dog, his eyes burning with fear and hate. There was no longer an innocent dog beneath him, but a murderer, a violent evil creature that had killed so many of the people he loved, and he had him now, he was going to finally end it... He grabbed the dog around its neck, squeezing with both his hands, and the dog flailed and bit at him, trying desperately to escape-

John suddenly felt a severe pain across the back of his head. The dog's owner had punched him with his fist, hard enough for John to fall over from being temporarily stunned. The whimpering dog squirmed away from the terrifying human's grip, its fur hackles raised as it barked at him. The owner picked John up by his shirt collar and hit him again across the face, snarling, "The FUCK is wrong with you, you little bastard?" John was only able to stare blankly back at the man, completely unaware of what was going on. He was thrown down onto the ground, a foot pressed against his chest, as the man flipped his cell phone out and called the police. John lay there, his limp body allowing the man's shoe to press down onto his chest, his addled mind spinning as minutes flowed by in a strange blur- Policemen picked John up, holding his arms behind his body, as the bewildered boy faced little choice but cooperation with the authorities. He sat in the back of the squad car, listening to the feed of radio calls, only vaguely aware that his face was drenched with sweat and tears.

It was pretty difficult for John to explain what had happened to the police, of all people, though he managed to condense things to a semi-appropriate excuse: "I have a real bad phobia of dogs..." he said lamely, though he knew that even if that was true, he wouldn't have attacked the dog like that... The policeman gave him another harsh verbal reprimand as John waited for his dad, terrified of the anger he would most likely be facing... However, when Mr Egbert arrived, John was surprised to feel himself being swept up into a tight hug. John suddenly felt the day's weight crashing down onto him, and he was able to do little more than clutch his father and sob, eventually choking out, "I don't even know what happened..."

The car ride home was silent and awkward, and John refused to look up from his hands in his lap, hands that had scratches on them... When they pulled into the driveway, Mr Egbert turned off the car and, instead of leaving the vehicle, looked over at John. "Son, I know you're hiding something from me. Please, John, if you love me, you'd tell me." John couldn't believe the emotional burden he was suddenly charged with, but he bit his lip and said, "Okay... There was this game that I played with my friends..." Mr Egbert interjected, "What kind of game? Did they make you do uncomfortable things?" Blushing, John pressed on, "N-no, nothing like that! It's... It's a long story." Judging by the look on his father's face, though, John had a feeling he was willing to listen for as long as it took.

It was strange. At first, John had trouble finding ways to accurately describe his experience with Sburb, but after he got started, the words turned into sentences, which flowed into an entire tale, with his father sparsely interjecting at a few points, mostly parts where he was involved. Mr Egbert had no recollection of anything John was saying, and his confusion and pity grew with every sentence his son told him. When John reached the part about seeing his own father dead, he found himself unable to continue. His throat closed up and tears stung at his eyes, and Mr Egbert frowned, offering his son another gentle hug. They had entered the house by the time John had started this long, strange tale, and as he hugged John, Mr Egbert cast a glance around the house. Things were perfectly normal, every last archeological and interior detail in place, and there had been no such incident of catastrophic proportions he could possibly recall. Looking down at his son, he said resolutely, "I promise I will help you, John."Charges against John had been dropped, since the owner's dog had suffered minimal harm, and John had never been deemed as a threat before. He was taken home, where he spent the night in his room, curled up in his bed and wondering what the hell was wrong with him to cause him to do such a horrific thing...

The next day, his father didn't wake him for school, John waking that morning and immediately noticing it was later on in the day than usual. He got up with some alarm, dressing then heading downstairs, wondering why his father hadn't woken him. It turned out, Mr Egbert hadn't even gone to work, and was in fact waiting for John in the living room. John smiled as he reached the bottom of the stairs and said, "Hey Dad, why're you home?" His smile faded, though, as he saw his dad's expression. It was a strained smile, and... John's stomach sank, as he noticed his dad looked like he had been crying... Mr Egbert tried to keep his voice normal as he said, "Hello, John. I took the day off so I could arrange some things for you..." John picked up the ominous tone, and said nervously, "What do you mean?"

"John, I'm going to take you to a place where they can help you."

John felt the horribly familiar sensation of ice flow through him. "But... There's nothing wrong with me..." he almost whimpered, fear etched into his face. His father picked up on that, and said gently, "Of course not, you just need someone to help you with... your thoughts..." John began to shiver as he did whimper, "You're gonna... take me to an institution?" He began to lean against the wall, his legs trembling and his breath constricting again... Mr Egbert got up and timidly approached John, saying, "Just for a little while, John, they can help you!" John recoiled from his father, though, crying out, "There's nothing wrong with me!" His father looked ready to cry again, as he replied with failing calm, "I know, Son! You think this isn't hard for me too?" John couldn't hear it, though, his lungs were ceasing up and refusing to take in any more air. Sickening dizziness overcame John, and he felt himself sliding down the wall as he sobbed, clutching his ears and shaking his head. The arms around him weren't comforting this time, not from the man who betrayed him, who was willing to give him up to others, who didn't believe him...

That evening, John's father gently instructed for John to pack a suitcase, offering him one of his. John grimly complied, but not before he got onto the computer and did something he hadn't ever done before: he opened a Pesterchum memo, and invited his three friends onto the board... Then he began to type.

ectoBiologist [EB] opened public bulletin board i'm really sorry guys.

EB opened memo on board i'm really sorry guys.

EB: please, if you're all at your computers, i really need you guys to read this.

EB: i don't really have much time, so i'll try to keep it short.

EB: rose, you were right.

EB: i don't know how you knew, but i'm not okay.

TG: yo egbert whats up with all this noise

TG: and what about rose now

TT: Hush, Strider. Each message, in time, will be revealed.

TG: okay go on john the suspense is killing me here

TG: im teetering on the edge of my seat like some poor mans chinese acrobatic act

TG: gimme a couple of plates to spin i cant do that shit

TG: dont have to worry about breaking them though that shits paper

TG: all my poor ass can afford

EB: dave, as much as i love your humor, please shut the fuck up for a second.

TG: whoa okay man whats up

EB: i'm sorry... i just...

EB: god, this is so hard...

GG: john whats going on?

GG: cmon you can tell your best friends.

EB: i'll just come on out and say it.

EB: my dad is sending me to a nuthouse.

EB: hello?

TG: egbert dont fuck with us like that

TG: cmon man jokes over hahahaha

GG: ...omg! really? D:

TT: My apologies for my halted response, I found myself rendered speechless.

EB: i'm so sorry everyone...

EB: i guess out of all of us, i was the first to snap.

TT: Out of all of us, you have probably been through the most.

TG: i dunno about that rose GG: shoosh dave!

GG: john i really wish this was a joke.

GG: but its not is it? :(

EB: i wish it was too.

EB: but no, this is no prank...

EB: if it was it'd be the shittiest prank ever.

EB: so i'm just gonna say EB: goodbye everyone.

EB: i'm sorry i wasn't stronger.

TG: john youre one of the raddest dudes ive ever met im being 100 percent honest here

TG: no aloof coolkid bullshit here only the honest to god truth

GG: yeah john...

GG: i just can't believe it...

TT: Despite my predictions, I had not estimated it would come to this...

TT: I will try to remain in contact with you, but in the meantime, I hope that you will receive the care you need.

TG: yeah egbert dont give those whitecoats too much trouble

TG: or too little

TG: they like to be kept on their toes you know how it is

GG: omg john ill miss you so much! ;~;

EB: i can't really see the screen really well right now, sorry.

EB: i love you guys, all of you.

EB: i hope i will see you all again.

EB: goodbye everyone...

EB closed memo.

John finally stopped trying to hold back his tears after he closed the memo, taking a moment to remove his glasses before leaning onto the computer table, sobbing freely as he felt despair overcome him completely.

The next day, John brought his father's suitcase out to the car, loaded up with clothing and personal items, and threw it into the trunk, climbing into the passenger seat and looking out the window. He was trying to take in as much of his town as he could, until he was no longer able to recognize where his father was taking him. It took almost an hour until Mr Egbert turned into a road leading up to a large building. John felt fear welling up in him again, looking to his dad with pleading eyes and trying to say with a calm tone, "Dad, you really don't have to do this, I don't need to be here..." His dad said nothing as he pulled into a parking space, his gaze fixed on the dashboard. John felt more panic flooding his system, his eyes growing wider. "You're not serious, please Dad, I can fix this myself, I don't need these people..." Mr Egbert gritted his teeth as he got out of the car, heading to the trunk and trying not to give in to his son's pleas, who was now simply beginning to cry in the passenger seat. His father's heart was breaking as he opened the passenger door and held a hand out to John, who refused to leave the car. "No," he whimpered through his cries, "No, I won't go..." His father's voice was the saddest he had ever heard it be, though, as he replied, "Son, please... Please, don't make this any harder..."

Both Egberts were in an equally dismal state as they entered the mental hospital, John bawling freely as his father determinately tried not to do more than let the tears fall down his face. Mr Egbert guided his son to a lobby chair as he approached the front desk, speaking with the receptionist behind it. John slumped into the chair, glaring up at any of the scrubs-clad assistants ambling around. He watched his father, who was signing paperwork and wiping his eyes with a tissue the receptionist had supplied. His heart sank, this was really happening... But... maybe... it wouldn't have to... John's mind kicked into a determined state, his experience in Sburb teaching him one good thing: he was in control of his own decisions. John looked to the hospital exit, adrenaline beginning to flow through his veins. He didn't have to just sit here and wait for him to be taken from his father... There was still time... Without trying to put too much thought into it, without trying to attract too much attention, John quietly got up and began to make for the exit. Unfortunately for him, this was certainly nothing new for the nurses who were casually monitoring him, the men walking casually toward the exit as John sped up. When he noticed his escape was being quickly closed off, John broke out into a straight bolt, reaching out for the doors-

Both of his extended arms were grabbed, and John found himself being pulled away from the exit. "No! NO! I DON'T BELONG HERE!" he screamed, struggling harder against the two strong men. One of them said, "Calm down, kid, or we'll have to force you to." John spat out, "Fuck you! Lemme OUT!" John stared at his father, who had his hands over his mouth, where only his tearful eyes were showing. "Dad, PLEASE!" he cried out, and his heart leaped in hope as he saw his father take a step forward- A sudden sting welled up on one of his arms, one of the nurses pulling a small needle out of his skin. John felt one last burst of panic, struggling against the men harder than ever. The nurses let him go this time, knowing he wasn't going to get far. Instead of heading for the door this time, though, John fled to his dad, clutching him and sobbing, "Don't let them take me..." John felt his body quite suddenly numbing up, to a point where he couldn't support his own weight anymore, and he felt himself sliding down his father's torso before the man gripped his limp body, stroking his son's hair as he watched those frightened blue eyes sliding out of focus. "I'm so sorry, John," Mr Egbert muttered, holding his unconscious son to him.

Thoughts began to murkily drift into John's mind once more, and it took him enormous effort to open his eyes... He was laying in a sterile-looking bed, the covers pulled crisply over him, and his throat was painfully dry. He had been snoring through his mouth the whole time he was asleep, and he found it extremely difficult to wet his mouth again. Squinting for his glasses, John found them on a bland-looking bedside table, grabbing them up and slipping them on. The room came into focus, though he could have just as easily taken it in without visual aid. It was so sterile, so blank... John pulled the blanket off and got up, his head spinning from the lingering sedative. He saw his suitcase on the ground leaning against a dresser, with a note that let him know the contents had been examined and some things deemed potentially dangerous might be missing. John didn't think he had packed anything dangerous, though when he went through his things, he found himself becoming increasingly aggravated to find his belt, his toothbrush, his damn shoes, all missing. The only thing that they had let him keep were his clothes and his Con-Air bunny, which had also undergone an examination for hidden weapons. John spent a while putting things away into the dresser, then cast a glance to the door. Was he stuck in this room? Would he be isolated here for the rest of his stay? John came up to the door and turned it... It opened quite easily.

John cast a nervous glance around the empty hallway, and then stepped out into it, the door gently clicking closed behind him. John was wearing socks, his feet softly patting against the linoleum floor as he walked past other rooms he assumed were duplicates of his. Perhaps they were alchemized... John shook his head, knowing those kinds of thoughts were what got him into this mess in the first place.

Glancing up at the plain walls, the bleak halogen lights, John frowned. This wasn't as creepy as the horror movies depicted, to his somewhat disappointment, but he figured he had yet to meet the inhabitants... John met the end of a hallway, a flight of stairs leading up and down. Assuming the more populated region was lower, John began his descent.

Noises began to reach John's straining ears as he descended a few floors, the previous identical wings giving way to an open recreation room. In it were only men of varying ages, the women's ward on the opposite side of the hospital. John looked around nervously; It seemed like a fairly normal area, with men in various outfits of their choosing, some more apparently addled than others. There were games and, to John's relief, a few computers, which looked fairly out of date but in good working condition... Some of the men looked up and noticed John, and one of them grinned and waved, saying, "Welcome back, Reggie!" John merely gave the young man a perplexed expression, and another young man muttered plainly, "Just ignore him, he says that to everyone."

John ambled over to the computer, frowning to find it password protected. He supposed he'd have to ask someone for access... Looking around the room again, John noticed a guard standing by the door, and nervously approached him. The man noticed the timid young man approaching him, and said, "Yeah?" John muttered, "Uh, well, I just... wanted to use the computer..." The man examined John more closely, and said, "You new here?" John nodded, and the guard continued, "Well before you hang out here, you'll have to be assessed by one of the doctors. Come this way, please." He gently put a hand on John's back, leading him out of the rec room and down a few halls.

When they reached a door with the occupant's name on it, John let out an audible groan of disbelief. The doctor's damn name was Scratch. Doctor Scratch. Looking down at him, the guard asked, "You okay?" John sighed and said, "Yeah..." The guard opened the door for John, and he entered the room. Sitting at his desk, an older man, completely bald, was scrawling something onto paper, until he looked up and said, with absolutely no expression, "Mr John Egbert, please sit down."

Not about to ask why someone named Doc Scratch immediately knew his name, John fell onto the chair in front of his desk, crossing his arms and legs and glaring at him. Scratch took immediate notice of John's body language, saying, "Insecurity is natural when you first arrive. I assure you, though, we are not here to cause further strain on you." John scoffed, finding his biting cynical side. "I'm not insecure, I'm mad because I-" "Don't belong here, yes." John opened his mouth angrily, but said nothing, as Scratch continued. "I'm afraid I must say, if you didn't belong here, you would not be here at all." Doc Scratch leaned back in his chair and examined John, who glared back. "Mr Egbert, I have some idea of what you are here for, but I would like to ask you yourself: why do you believe you are here?" John let out a small huff. Of course, all these mind games... "I'm here because I wasn't able to keep my mouth shut," he said bitterly, looking out the window. Doc Scratch's expression remained constantly blank, and he silently consulted his chart. "John Egbert, male, 14 years old, admitted here by his guardian. Patient claims of a reality-changing video game having affected his life, but no evidence suggests such a game ever took place." He found John's gaze locked back onto him, those sapphire eyes bleeding anger. "Mr Egbert, are you aware of the term schizophrenia?"

That was it. John leaped from his chair, snarling, "I'm not crazy, you big fucking cue ball!" For the first time since John arrived in the office, he saw a trace of surprise behind the doctor's face, but it was wiped clean once more. "Excuse me, Mr Egbert? Did you just call me a pool term?" John realized he had slipped up, and Doc Scratch rode with his faltered defenses, continuing, "You may believe there is nothing wrong with you, that this game had really happened, but the truth of the matter is, the mind is a very powerful tool of delusion when it wants to be." John, who was still standing, growled, "You can't tell me it never happened, no matter how much psychobabble and drugs you put into me. It happened, goddammit!" Doc Scratch raised a hand, calmly pressing on, "You think that now, but we are here to help you overcome the spell your mind has put on you." John let out an exasperated cry, and put his hands on the doctor's desk now, looming over him. "I will never forget what happened," he persisted, feeling his anger rising at that smug, emotionless face staring back at him. Doc Scratch was not intimidated in the least, though, and said, "Mr Egbert, I will ask you to calm yourself, before I am forced to contact someone to escort you out." John narrowed his eyes at the man, before sinking into his seat again. Doc Scratch didn't smile, saying, "Very good. Now, you are projecting hostility towards those who don't believe you, a common reaction. I believe the time to discuss medications is in order."

Despite John's protests, which could only carry so far until he was threatened with temporary sedation, he ended up being prescribed several drugs, one for schizophrenia, and two others for anxiety and aggression. John knew the last one was only because he had been so curt toward that damn doctor, but he angrily trudged back to the rec room, locating the same guard. The man noticed John looked a lot more disgruntled, and simply waited quietly until John stopped in front of him and said, "Okay, I talked to the doctor. Can I use the computer now?" The man asked him, "Were you prescribed medications?" John skipped a second to say, "No," and the guard immediately picked up on it. "Let's go make sure, shall we?" he asked. John frowned and said, "He didn't give me anything!" The guard nodded and said, "Let's go, your meds will be ready by now." He put his hand behind John's back again, trying to escort him in the same fashion as before, but the boy immediately recoiled from him, almost shouting, "I don't need any medicine!" He was attracting attention from the patients, now, but he didn't pay them any mind. The guard gave an exasperated sigh, and said, "Your consent isn't necessary by now, you know. Just come with me, take your meds, and you can use the computer." John gave the man a lingering glare, but silently let himself be led off again, this time down one flight of stairs, then to a nurse's desk.

The woman behind the desk looked at John with disinterest, and said, "Last name." John muttered, "Egbert..." The nurse looked his name up and read out, "John Egbert, 14, diagnosed with schizophrenia, anxiety, aggression... Prescriptions are Upliftive, Benificia, and Placatium. Take one set once a day, please swallow these and open your mouth when you're done." She slid him two paper cups, one with three different pills, another with some water. John frowned down at the medicine, his heart sinking... Had he really fallen this far? It had taken such little time... With a sad sigh, he tossed back the pills and drank the water, let the nurse examine his mouth, then hung his head in silent defeat.

John took a seat at the computer, the guard taking a moment to type in the password before the desktop screen opened, and he left John to do what he wished. Seeing no Pesterchum app, John opened the web browser. It was heavily filtered; John couldn't open any of the sites he commonly visited, or even access his email. Isolation hit him harder than ever, and John looked around the spacious, but securely enclosed room. Now he didn't even have his friends to help him... John sadly got up from the computer and walked away, sitting in the corner and hiding his face behind his arms and knees.

It took about a week for John to notice the medicine taking effect on him. He didn't have schizophrenia, at least, not as severely as others believed, and the medicine made him feel constantly dreary and non-energetic. The anti-anxiety and anger medications were dropped after a few days, since he stopped trying to argue with the doctor, and he had no panic attacks from any sort of relapse thus far. The counselors had John participating in group sessions, where he merely sat listlessly and watched the other strange boys speak, or read, or do their own strange, nonsensical things. His time at the hospital soon stretched into weeks, the time turning into a hazy, joyless blur. John had a few names memorized by then, a few familiar men around his age that had mild disorders, who were also upset about their situation. John didn't spend a lot of time with them, not the people who only made him feel worse about staying here, but they were the simple contact every sociable human desired. John was sitting on the couch with them, his eyes drawn into a constant half-lidded state, his frame limp and his mind buzzing lethargically. He had learned that the most important rule among patients was to just keep your mouth shut and your head low, or they'll shove more meds at you, let those cursed syringes show on their belt a little more...

John's muddled mind was brought into more focus as the boy next to him elbowed him, grinning and muttering, "Check it out, Egg, new arrival." John focused with some difficulty, looking up at a dark-skinned young man. John's heart leaped into his throat as he snapped out of his drugged stupor for the first time since he started on the prescription, gazing intently at the boy. He immediately recognized the face, with those dark eye bags, that scrubby black hair, that disgruntled glare... Before he knew what he was doing, John got up and drifted over to the boy, who caught his gaze and seemed to light up with the same revelation. John stopped in front of him, and asked apprehensively, "Karkat...?"


	2. Chapter 2

The young man took a moment to answer, his mouth opening and shutting in surprise, but soon regaining his usual grumpy composure. "I'm not supposed to say that's my name..." he grunted, glaring up at John. He was short, his arms crossed in a black sweater that was a few sizes too large for him, and a pair of gray cargo pants that were held up by a small bit of tummy fat. He looked like he didn't go outside much, the kind of kid who would hole himself up in his room and campaign online for as long as physically possible. John noticed he had been through the same safety procedure with his clothing, though he certainly looked no less formidable, even in a pair of socks with little crabs adorning them.

John's heart hammered in his chest as he took in the strange sight of a human Karkat, wondering how this was even possible, but he was brought back to attention by the boy saying, "How'd you even know that name anyway? Everyone else just thinks I'm Kevin the Human..." John smiled in disbelief, hurriedly rambling, "This... This is amazing! I can't- I would've never guessed... Karkat!" Kevin winced at the name, holding up a hand and growling, "Listen kid, I'm supposed to be Kevin. I'm not supposed to be the name I feel I should really have, or be in the body I want, no matter how much I wish-" John grinned and said, "But you aren't a human! You're a troll, right? With gray skin, sharp teeth, those silly little candy corn horns?" At that, Kevin looked astonished, but he snapped back quickly. "Great, our moms shared needles when we were being formed. Listen, I just wanna convince these fucking whitecoats that I'm a normal happy little human grub, then get back to my happy little self-loathing life, okay? I don't need other wackos trying to convince me I'm on their side!" He pushed past John, who stared at his retreating back, his mouth open in disbelief. "Wait, Ka-Kevin, wait!"

He jogged up to Kevin, who paid him no mind, his tired-looking brown eyes locked forward. "Kevin, don't you remember who I am? Don't you know... at all?" Kevin turned around and looked John up and down, giving a small snort, and saying, "I never met you before, so obviously not." In truth, Kevin's mind was racing. This was so strange, like so many dreams he's had before, where he met a boy with blue eyes, black hair, those insufferable buck teeth and terrible-looking glasses... But he reminded himself of the doctors, the counselors, his own father, who insisted he had an overactive imagination, that the idea that he was a gray-skinned alien was ridiculous...

His heart sinking now, John simply looked down as he muttered, "Oh... Okay, Kevin. I'm sorry..." He walked off, trying to hold back the first tears in a long time. Kevin watched John's retreating back with a softened gaze, worry making its way to his face as he almost spoke up. No, he couldn't. He was not going to involve himself with these crazy people, even if it seemed that strange boy was a godsend, something he had been waiting for his whole life... He cursed silently, turning away and letting John depart.

Later that night, John felt a whole other level of desolation, his hopes of reuniting with at least someone he (sort of?) knew being skewed as soon as they appeared. He let himself fall back into his drug-induced haze, letting his thoughts about Sburb and his friends disappear... He was just sitting at the mess hall table, staring dully at the dinner tray in front of him, when another smacked down onto the table. John jumped and looked up at the bearer of the tray, who was returning a hard glare of his own. It was Kevin again, and this time he seemed to be upset over something. Sitting down opposite from John, Kevin frowned and said nothing for a moment. Then, "Hey..." John looked pensive, but replied, "Hi, Kevin. Uh, I'm sorry about earlier..." Kevin grunted, then said, "I don't get it. I don't know why, but... I've seen you before, somewhere." He racked his mind, looking intensely aggravated, and John gently interjected, "I know why, Kevin."

A nurse was glancing around the cafeteria, making sure no one was causing an incident. He noticed two boys in particular speaking animatedly to each other. He recognized the white boy, though he had never seen him with such a happy expression on his face. The darker boy was replying with an enlightened gaze, and the nurse estimated that the white boy finally had someone else to listen to his crazy-talk. He didn't like the sight of the other boy taking those words in so eagerly, though. It most likely meant he was spreading delusions, and so the nurse strolled over to the boys, listening for a second as he pretended to gaze over at another table.

"...About the whole ectobiology thing, you remember?" John laughed as Kevin made a disgusted face, and said, "Ugh, I remember something like that, it was so embarrassing to watch!" John calmed his laughter enough to continue, "Yeah, and it was even better when I found out you were trolling me backwards through time! Oh man, I pranked you so hard the whole time!" Kevin couldn't help but grin as he said, "You fucking suck, Egbert. Leave it to you to take advantage of me like that and throw all my trolling back at me..." Kevin's fixed gaze on John broke, though, as he noticed the nurse that was now watching them. "Lost something over here?" he asked, his usual ornery tone returning. The nurse grimaced at Kevin, saying, "You two seem to be sharing some good stories." From weeks of experience, John immediately fell silent as he looked away from the man, but Kevin narrowed his eyes and said, "Yeah, leave us to our crazy-talk and go stalk some other boys who aren't miserable, as much as it pains you to see us not acting like zombies." John bit his lip and muttered softly, "Kevin..." The nurse glared back, though, saying, "I don't think you two should be speaking together." Kevin snapped back, "I don't think you would know how to understand anything other than one foot in the pants at a time, but you don't hear me berating you about it." The nurse was now looming over Kevin, growling, "You better straighten up, kid." Kevin let out a rasping laugh, and snarled back, "Or what? You'll pap me with your bunny slippers? Fuck off, man, give us some peace!" He was starting to attract attention, and the nurse was growing angrier at his defiance. "Gimme your arm." Kevin immediately knew what that meant, and curled his lip up in a challenging smirk. "Oh, that's not an appropriate measure for this kind of behavior. THIS BEHAVIOR, HOWEVER," Kevin threw his entire tray into the man's face, which caused the man to immediately pin him down onto the table and pull off the syringe cap with his teeth. John let out a small, frightened squeak as he watched Kevin bare his teeth as the needle dipped into his skin. Looking up at John, he grinned and said, "Easy as hell to rile up, huh?" He let out another hoarse laugh that tapered away into silence, his eyes slowly falling closed and his body going limp. John simply watched, hands up to his mouth, as he trembled in fear.

John spent the remainder of the evening waiting in worry, wondering where they took his new (he guessed?) friend. He didn't see Kevin for the rest of the night, and woke up in his usual hazy fashion. He trudged downstairs with the other patients, grabbing a short breakfast and then moving to the rec room. With a small jolt of happiness, he noticed a familiar face. Kevin was sitting at a couch, looking like he was trying to keep himself awake. John came over to him, sitting and saying with relief, "Kevin, you're okay..." Kevin looked up at John with a weary gaze, muttering with some measure of effort, "Okay... Yeah..." John frowned and said, "What's wrong?"

Kevin heaved a great yawn and muttered on, "After they shot me up I was forced to see that stupid bald-headed asshole again... And he made me take some kind of... constant tranquilizer..." He was almost nodding off as he finished his explanation, causing worry to well up in John. "You can't keep taking that stuff then," he said, and Kevin let out a much more tired rasping laugh. "Wishful thinking, John... I can't fool them with the old hidden pill trick. Trust me, I tried..." His terribly subdued anger made John frown, and he said, "We gotta try to get out of here or something..." Kevin grinned, saying, "Yeah, that's gonna be a breeze. Why don't I just ask them to sedate me my whole stay here? That'd amount to the same progress..." John bit his lip softly and asked him, "Well... What are we going to do?" Kevin thought to himself, then said in an uncharacteristically calm tone, "I guess... We'll just stick with each other, and tough our stay out." John smiled at Kevin, who gave a weary gin back, and the two shared a soft fist bunp.

Patients were allowed an outside day 3 times a week, though John hadn't the heart previously to leave the ward. He was happier to go outside with Kevin, though, feeling sad for the poor boy. He would almost nod off, even while playing dodgeball or walking along the jogging track. John had his hand around Kevin's shoulders, guiding him along and saying, "So you've basically been born here? On Earth?" Kevin nodded and said, "All I know my whole life... I just feel like I'm something different. The others... I remember them too... I think." John asked, "You mean the other trolls?" Kevin nodded and said, "I mostly just remember what they look like. Every now and then, though, I'll remember a hint of their name... Or where they lived... Or their blood color. I was freak... Or something..." He looked down at his own hands, as if they had his original blood color showing through. John smiled and said, "Well, I always thought you were the best troll out of all of them." Kevin looked up at John, his tired face cracking a smile. "I hope I was..."

They soon sat under a tree by the jogging track, watching other patients amble along. Kevin leaned passively against John's shoulder, his eyelids falling shut... John smiled and dared to run his hand through Kevin's rough, black hair, which roused a tired smile from the smaller boy. John watched as Kevin fell asleep, an unfortunately common occurrence as of late, and sighed as he looked up into the sky. It was slightly overcast, the sun being blocked out by passing clouds, but John was glad enough to be out in the open again. He was content to sit there, with Kevin sleeping against his side, the grumpy-looking boy's face smoothed out and peaceful-looking. When the sun emerged from the clouds, its white gleam filtering through the broad green leaves, Kevin's face drew up into a slight frown, and he began to mumble something under his breath. John looked down at him and said, "Kevin? You alright?" Kevin's eyes snapped open and he looked terrified. "Green sun," he whimpered, his eyes darting up to the illuminated tree canopy. John remembered the story of that immense cosmic event, though he had never seen it up close like Kevin's past self had... John noticed Kevin was beginning to panic, his breath hitching and his body seizing up. John held him like his teacher had so many years-weeks ago, petting him and saying, "Shh, no no, it's just Earth's sun, it's totally normal..." Kevin cried out, "It's so huge! I can't- I can't see-" John held onto Kevin, rocking him gently and trying to keep a calm tone as he replied, "No, no, it's alright... It's okay..." He stayed with Kevin under that tree, until a nurse came over and helped Kevin to his feet, John quickly getting up and following as the nurse helped the hyperventilating boy along. Kevin's steps faltered as dizziness overcame him, his lungs failing to take in enough carbon dioxide from his rapid breathing. John ran up and caught Kevin as he fell, his limp body collapsing against John's as he choked and shivered. John looked down at Kevin, his face etched with worry. Kevin tried to smile back at John, hating the feeling of causing the other boy so much concern, but his chest was hurting too much... The nurse came up to Kevin, picking him up and holding the short boy like a large child. Kevin weakly clutched the man's scrubs top, his rasping breath muffled into the shirt. Every now and then, he looked up to make sure John was still following him.

It was that day John found out which room Kevin was staying in, the nurse depositing Kevin in his bed and calmly instructing him what to do to get rid of the hyperventilation. Kevin laid on his side and breathed into his hands, and John watched as he felt intense pity; mostly because he had been there himself, and he knew how terrifying and painful a panic attack was. He supposed it was for that reason that he quickly joined Kevin's side, sitting next to him and gently petting his back, muttering, "There we go... That's it, your breathing's better... Keep going..." Kevin glared up at John and rasped, "What- are you,- my- lusus?" Despite the situation, John couldn't help but chuckle at that. The nurse observed Kevin's breathing, noticing it was evening out some, but he stood watch for a few more minutes, as John kept by Kevin's side and waited patiently for the other to calm down. Sure enough, Kevin's breath became less and less frantic, his trembling body loosening up and relaxing from the frightening grip his fear had on him. John smiled and said softly, "There... Feeling better?" Kevin was still breathing heavily, more from physical exhaustion now, and grumbled, "I feel like... a bagpipe... that got dropped during... a parade, and... got trudged on, by... the entire marching band..." John snickered again, and Kevin smiled wearily at that. The nurse that was monitoring them felt a measure of relief as well, and said, "If he has any other problems, please let someone know." John nodded and said, "Thanks for your help..." He waited until the man left, then said to Kevin, "What was all that about? You remember the Green Sun?" Kevin frowned and said, "I have nightmares about it. a lot..." He looked embarrassed, the same way John had felt when he experienced his first panic attack, but John gave him a re-assuring smile and said, "It's okay, I know how you feel..." Kevin frowned and replied, "I shouldn't be freaking out like a little wriggler, though! What's even with that? It's not even a thing that exists anymore, uh-probably, and I still can't get it out of my head! I can't forget, John, I can't forget Alternia, the others, that goddamn archagent! He's probably still somehow hanging around, trying to find us, maybe he's even here!" Kevin's eyes darted around the room, and that caused John to feel a prickle of fear too, which made him say, "Hey, that's not possible! It's over, isn't it? He's gone along with everything else..." John swallowed down his own uncertainty for the sake of calming Kevin down, trying to smile for him, to let him know it really was all going to be okay. Kevin glared back at John, his constantly disgruntled expression laced with some lingering fear. Eventually, though, he grunted and said, "One day I'm gonna knock those stupid teeth straight." Kevin gave a small twitch at the corners of his mouth at John's silly laugh, the kind of sound his previous self had never gotten the privilege to hear...

Later on that evening, John and Kevin had traveled to the rec room, where they spent a while sitting across from each other at a small table, a large and extremely complex jigsaw puzzle spread across the surface. John was carefully organizing the pieces into like colors and finding the edge pieces, while Kevin tried to make the pieces fit with brute force. He was currently trying to hammer the piece with the dog's head onto the little girl, until John snickered and peeled the ill-fitted piece off, giving Kevin a piece with part of the girl's head on it. Kevin huffed and put the piece in right, not admitting to John that it was much more satisfying to see the piece actually fit rather than force it. John, meanwhile, suddenly had a contemplative expression as he idly moved an edge piece along to try and find a spot for it. Kevin noticed John's downcast expression, and said, "If puzzles aren't your thing, we could go play Get the Schizos to Believe Your Story." John grinned some at that, and said, "No, it's not that. I was just wondering..." He fit the edge piece in, picking up another to perform the same assessment. Without looking up at Kevin, he continued, "...Do you know what happened to the other trolls?" After he asked that, he did look up, hoping he hadn't trodden on a personal boundary.

It didn't seem to be quite the case, luckily for John, as Kevin frowned and looked down at the puzzle, his head propped up with one of his cheeks resting in his hand. "No I don't," he admitted, and his own brown eyes looked up to meet John's gaze. Kevin looked so tired, although the medicine had helped him not fly off the handle so quickly. John frowned sympathetically, saying, "Well... You're here, so that means they must be too, right?" Kevin looked back down, this time not focusing on the incomplete image in front of them. "I'm not sure... You'd think they'd try to get in touch, if they still got the memories like I do, but... I dunno, it'd be hard for us to recognize each other. We look so different now, and most of them have probably fallen into believing they were human all along." This time, Kevin's glare swept around the room. "I mean, if this is what happens when you remember, I wouldn't blame them..." John's expression was now straight pity, and he said softly, "Maybe it's not too late to still find them, though. I mean, once we get out of here." John implied there was hope for the both of them with his use of the word "we", but Kevin only frowned, fitting another piece in right. "...I guess so," he eventually muttered, and John smiled at him gently. The two quietly worked at the puzzle until dinner time, which they attended together as well.


	3. Chapter 3

[Haha this chapter is way too tl;dr, hope you can manage through it.]

The next day, John ventured the hospital in his usual morning pattern, using the restroom and taking care of his hygiene, and then he decided to make his way to Kevin's room. He had only a vague recollection of the way they had gotten there yesterday, having been more focused on other things at the time, but John still trudged up the stairs, briefly shaking his head to try and jar his hazy mind into focus. Kevin's room was 2 floors above John's, and near the end of the hallway. John came up to the door with the name plate "Vargas, Kevin", and knocked softly. It took a few moments, but he heard shuffles coming to the door, and the click of it opening. Kevin was standing there, in nothing but plain black boxers, and he looked particularly disgruntled. "...Way too fuckin' early to be gett'n a house call, don't y... Oh, it's you." Kevin's aggravated voice didn't bother John, who smiled and said brightly, "Mornin'! Well, hardly, it's almost noon!" Kevin grunted, "Exactly, way too fuckin' early." John chuckled and said, "That's not good for you to sleep so late. Can I come in?" Kevin yawned widely, making some kind of growl at the end of it that John perceived as an invitation.

After shutting the door behind him, John turned around to see Kevin flop face-down into his bed again, and frowned disapprovingly. "Hey, what'd I just tell you?" he said, walking over to Kevin's bed with his hands on his hips. Kevin glared up at John from a gap between his hair and the pillow, then turned onto his side to growl, "Shut up, I'm used to going to bed in the morning." John looked confused, saying, "Even as a human?" Kevin grunted, "Always felt natural. I mean, when I do sleep." John sighed and said, "Well that's not gonna happen anymore. You don't need to fear the sun here!" He smiled as Kevin grunted and muttered, "Well... Lemme at least sleep a little longer..." John gave Kevin a bemused expression, saying, "Alright, but I'll be by to wake you up again." Kevin growled, "No you're not, because you're gonna nap with me." Confusion crossed John's face again, and Kevin's hand reached up and pulled John to him. John stumbled forward by the smaller boy's surprising strength, his shins meeting the mattress, causing him to stumble into the bed. Kevin moved closer to the wall in time for John to fall next to him, who was laughing with his glasses askew. Kevin couldn't help but crack a grin at John's goofy, snorting laughter, finding the boy to be oddly charming in his own gangly, awkward way. Kevin soon yawned and muttered, "Don't hog the blankets, that's for me to do," and flipped over, his back to John. John smiled over at Kevin, then pulled his glasses off and set them on the bedside table. He scooted into the bed more comfortably, and turned away from Kevin, wordlessly suggesting they be each others' back support as he gently nudged his back against the other boy's. Kevin was about to speak up against the body contact, but found that their two bodies against each other like that really was comfortable, and so he said nothing and pushed up against John a little more. With both boys soundlessly enjoying each others' company, they both fell into a serene midday sleep.

John woke much later to a brisk rapping on Kevin's door, sitting up in alarm as he looked at it. Beside him, the warm little lump that was Kevin didn't stir, even as the door was opened. A nurse walked in, and he looked between the two boys, deciding not to say anything about that. Instead, he said, "Kevin, you're wanted in the doctor's office." At the mention of his name, Kevin gave a sudden snort as he awoke as well, the boy stretching and growling in a sleepy voice, "Whut you say...?" John repeated, "You're wanted at the doctor's office. I guess he wants to talk to you." Kevin sat up, rubbing his eyes and grumbling, "No, John, he wants to give me flowers and propose to me." Kevin climbed over John and wearily made his way over to the wardrobe, where he pulled out a similar outfit to all his other clothes, tugging it on and running his fingers through his hair. John got up and put his glasses on, stretching and yawning as well. He followed the nurse and Kevin out of the room, heading to the doctor's , they were in front of Doc Scratch's office, and Kevin looked nervous. John asked him with some concern, "You want me to go in with you?" Kevin looked up at John for a second, and said, "Okay." John smiled as Kevin pulled the door open, and they both entered.

Sitting at his desk and expressionless as usual, Scratch looked up from his documents and noticed the two boys had entered. "Kevin Vargas and John Egbert. Please do sit down," he said, motioning to the space in front of his desk. John looked at the spot in front of his desk where there was normally one chair, and he couldn't help but feel a little creeped out that there were now two chairs there, like he had known Kevin would be joined by a friend. The two sat down, and Scratch said, "You two have become good friends, I see. Such a bond is beneficial for both of you." Kevin looked nonplussed, his arms crossed as he said flatly, "What did you want me for?" Scratch gazed over to Kevin, and replied plainly, "You had a panic attack yesterday. You voiced claims of seeing a 'Green Sun', that being the cause of your attack. May I ask what you mean by this green sun?" Kevin frowned and looked away, growling, "It's nothing, just a stupid dream caused by these stupid meds that keep me tired all the time." John bit his lip, hoping Kevin would behave in front of the doctor.

Scratch merely thought silently, then stood up and looked out his window, with his hands behind his back. "Mr Vargas, there are many astronomical bodies in our universe, and there very well could be stars that have the chemical composition to appear green. On Earth, man has learned that fire can achieve various colors in reaction to certain elements. Now I ask you, Mr Vargas, why you have a fear of green celestial illuminations?" Kevin had been making the "bla bla bla" hand gesture the whole time Scratch was speaking, and John had to hold his own hands over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. However, when the question was posed on him, Kevin stopped and glared at the back of Scratch's head, muttering lamely, "I told you, it was just a stupid dream." Scratch turned around, looking between John and Kevin. "Mr Vargas, if you feel uncomfortable speaking about this matter in front of your friend, I could have him leave." Kevin heard that more as a threat than a suggestion, and said, "If John leaves, I do too." Scratch nodded and patiently said, "I still require honest input from you, Mr Vargas. Your lies are getting you nowhere." Kevin looked to John, then back at Scratch, sighing in defeat. "...It's something the past me I told you about saw... It was an- unfathomably huge sun that was as big as 2 regular universes... I don't even like this tiny Earth sun..." John reached over to Kevin and patted him on the shoulder as Scratch digested that information. "I see. Isn't it interesting that you two both seem to share quite a few similarities in your claims..." John finally spoke up, saying, "What do you mean by that?" Scratch took his seat again, saying, "I am merely implying that you two may be bouncing your delusions off of each other, thus strengthening each others' beliefs about this supposed game session." Kevin bared his teeth and said, "Or maybe, y'know, this is proof that it actually happened and we're not fucking insane?" Scratch calmly said, "Temper, Mr Vargas. Now, I have been working in this profession for quite some time-" John couldn't help but think, _You mean since after you helped destroy both our game sessions?_ He balked as Scratch's eyes flickered in his direction, but the doctor continued calmly, "And I believe I may have some validation to my opinion when I say you two are mistaken when you insist that these memories are real. The mind can fabricate powerful delusions that appear as memories, Mr Vargas. Mr Egbert knows this, I am hoping..." John opened his mouth in objection, but didn't wish to argue with the man that held so much power over them, and so closed it and looked away in shame. causing Kevin to nearly lose it. "Don't try and get John to believe in your brainwashing! I'm so sick of you fucking telling me it's all in my head, it's not, and you fucking know it!" John whimpered much more quietly, "Kevin..." Kevin wasn't having any of it this time, though, as he continued, "You were part of the goddamn game too! YOU WERE PART OF IT, AND YOU'RE TRYING TO CONVINCE US YOU WEREN'T, BUT I FUCKING KNOW! I FUCKING KNOW!" He had slammed his hands onto Scratch's desk, his fingers angrily curling and wrinkling the documents, and John stood, trying to pull Kevin back, but Scratch had already pressed the silent alarm under his desk, paging the nurse outside his door. As the nurse came in and Kevin put two and two together, he snarled at Scratch, "Drug me up all you want, you stupid fucking hack, but I won't ever cave in!" The nurse pinned Kevin down over Scratch's table, uncapping the needle and pricking Kevin. The boy squirmed out of the man's grip and tried to lunge at Scratch, only to be held back. In his fit of anger, he took one last opportunity to scream, "I WON'T CAVE IN, EVER! I'LL MAKE SURE YOUR HEAD DOES, THOUGH, I'LL SPILL ALL THAT DISGUSTING, STAGNANT WATER OUT OF your... fucking... ugly..." John sighed sadly as Kevin's voice grew weaker, and he eventually fell limp in the nurse's arms, his angry snarl still etched onto his relaxing face.

As Kevin was carried out of his office, Scratch looked to John, who quite suddenly felt like an animal that got lured into a cage trap. Scratch said, "I must admit, I had a feeling your friendship with Mr Vargas would escalate to him becoming more defensive over his beliefs. I hope the same cannot be said about you." John faced that passive gaze that was somehow so discomforting, like he was reading his thoughts, but John steeled himself and said, "I've... been thinking it might be... a little imagined..." Scratch nodded with no indication of emotion, and said, "Regardless, I believe you two should be separated for a little while." John almost cried out, "What? Why?" Scratch continued, "I simply believe this arrangement will be for the best. It's common for two patients with similar conditions to bond, but Mr Vargas has proven to me that he needs closer examination." John gaped, then said with an edge to his voice, "I've been around him because we're friends, not because of... our conditions..." Scratch had no expression for amusement, but he said, "I see. I imagine you two believe you were friends in his supposed past life as well?" John's nerves were becoming grated, replying sharply, "It's not because of that, either! Jeez, can't I just want to be friends with someone who really needs it?" Scratch replied smoothly, "What he needs, Mr Egbert, is proper medical attention. I will ask that you resume your scheduled therapy visits and focus on your own mental well-being. as well. Mr Vargas will be returned to the normal ward when we see him fit to." John fought back tears now, feeling disgust well up in his stomach. He caused this, he was only making things worse for the both of them... After John sat there and said nothing for a moment, Scratch gently said, "You may leave now."

John resisted the urge to slam the door as he departed the office, wondering where they had taken Kevin... He stalked down the halls, deciding to see how long he could venture before either finding Kevin, or get told off for being where he wasn't supposed to. Worst comes to worst, he knew he could simply feign ignorance... John had figured out that the top several floors were exclusively to house patients, then below that was the rec room and cafeteria. The floor below that was for the doctors and counselors to evaluate patients, as well as dispense medicine, and the second lowest floor... was a mystery to John. The base floor was obviously the entrance, which was closed off to patients. There was a security checkpoint, and then a visiting lobby. The back of the base floor had an expansive, fenced backyard and patio for the patients. John decided to head for the second floor, descending down the stairwell until he reached the unknown wing.

The first thing John saw was a hallway with doors that were placed further apart than the residential section. Noticing there were no nurses, John cautiously made his way down the hall, feeling a sort of sense of foreboding just from going deeper down the wing. The first few doors on either side of the hall had no windows, and were locked. John expected nothing different, but as he ventured further, he noticed the approaching doors did have small eyebrow windows one could peer into. Coming up to one, John noticed the small rectangle of glass was cross-hatched with thin wire, a hairline fracture running across the glass. John cautiously peered into the room beyond the cracked glass, and felt his stomach turn as his eyes met a white, padded room with a man inside, the instantly recognizable straight jacket wrapped around his body.

John had arrived in the isolation ward.


	4. Chapter 4

[Man, each chapter literally keeps getting shorter... I'll try to correct that.]

With this unsettling information now committed to memory, John proceeded to go to the other doors, his blue bespectacled eyes gazing into each window for a second. Most of the rooms were dark and unused, and in one, a patient soundlessly yelled at John and ran at the door, causing the boy to back away and let out a cry of surprise. After steadying himself, he proceeded to look on, though his efforts to find Kevin were soon dashed. A nurse had heard his cry, and came around to investigate. When he saw a patient that at least didn't have iso ward scrubs on, he said in a cross voice, "Hey! You aren't allowed on this floor, go back up to the regular patients' floor." John frowned at being caught so soon, but said, "Sorry, I got lost..." The nurse walked with John, making sure he'd head back up the stairs to the correct floor. As they were passing the doors with no view port, John took that opportunity to ask the man, "What's behind those doors?" The nurse grimaced some and said, "If you behave, hopefully you'll never have to find out." John certainly did not like the sound of that.

A few days passed in the same hazy boredom as before, though John found he missed Kevin badly, finding the other boy had lightened up his mood significantly since they met. Every time John walked with the other patients down to the backyard, he found himself gazing down that long, frightening hallway, wondering if Kevin was wrapped up in his own straight jacket, or suffering through cruel punishments, or even being experimented on... John had stopped waking up as early as he had previously, staying up later at night and sometimes crying over Kevin, or his own commitment, or just how his life had been so screwed up.

Almost a week had passed since Kevin had been taken from John, and his counselor, Ms Paint, noticed he was looking more depressed than usual. She had been happy that John's condition seemed to be improving, having been told by him that a friend was helping keep him in good spirits. Now, though, as he was sitting there, telling her about his day in a flat, uninterested tone, she couldn't help but worry about his well-being. After she dismissed John and watched him walk out of her office, she paged Doc Scratch. He answered plainly, "Ms Paint. You are concerned about Mr Egbert and his friend, but there need be no reason for it. Mr Vargas is being released today." Like the other staff that have come to expect Scratch's freakishly accurate precognition skills, she replied, "Oh, that's great! I'm sure John'll be happy... How is Kevin doing?" She couldn't see Scratch's face, but she had a feeling his tone was a bit smug as he answered, "He has been corrected some. It was difficult to persuade him to cooperate at first, but he eventually agreed to a few less common measures." Ms Paint frowned and said hesitantly, "Well... I'm glad he's returning to the normal ward. Thank you, Doctor." She ended the call, knowing from experience that Scratch meant Kevin had gone through one of the most painful procedures they performed at this institution.

John sighed as he ambled along to the cafeteria; the number of patients waiting had let up some, since lunch hour was half over. John retrieved his tray, turning to look for an open bench. He nearly dropped his tray, though, when he saw the familiar face he had been aching for. John smiled widely, hastily making his way over to the bench as he cried happily, "Kevin!" Said boy jumped as he looked up at John, his eyes wide and frightened, a complete change from his previously medicated state. John didn't quite notice, though, his voice emanating relief as he sat next to Kevin and grabbed him up in a hug. "I missed you..." He finally noticed something was wrong, though, when Kevin let out a little whimper of discomfort and tried to scoot away from him. John looked down at Kevin, now frowning in confusion. "...Kevin?" he asked, letting the boy go. Kevin scooted away from John some, but wrapped his own arms around himself, hunching down some. John asked him in a docile voice, "What's wrong with you?" Kevin bit his lip, looking down at his own nitpicked tray. "I was bad," he answered, his voice soft and fearful. John asked again, "What happened? What... What did they do to you?" Kevin shuddered and shook his head wordlessly, and John felt now wasn't the time to push him. He slowly reached out and carefully patted Kevin on the shoulder, feeling a twang of sadness as the other winced at his touch. After a moment, John began to pick at his own food, plucking at the vegetables and discreetly looking over at Kevin between bites. Kevin had started on his food again, though when he raised the plastic spork to his mouth, his hand was trembling so badly, some of the food had been shaken off. After watching the poor boy struggle with sadness pooling up in his stomach, John stood and tried to ignore Kevin's sudden head jerk from his movement, saying, "C'mon, let's go somewhere less crowded."

After taking Kevin's tray from his trembling hands and busing both of theirs to the collection area, John gently put his arm around Kevin's shoulders, smiling down at him. Kevin looked up at John, his eyes still wide and alert. John asked him, "You want to go to your room?" Kevin hesitated, then said quietly, "...Your room." John nodded and led Kevin up the stairs, coming off them at his floor. He and Kevin headed into his room, though there was very little difference between the two. Kevin didn't seem to mind, though, as he climbed onto John's bed and settled onto it, curling up like a cat. John closed his door and smiled at the shape Kevin had assumed on his bed, coming over and sitting next to him. Kevin inched toward John and leaned up against him, and John could feel his body trembling every time his muscles moved. John raised his hand slowly, giving Kevin plenty of time to register it before he ran his hand through that rough, scrubby hair. Kevin seemed more relaxed in John's room, his eyes closing as he let the other pet him. John continued that for a minute, stroking Kevin's head and smiling contently, until he heard a strange little noise from the other. Looking down at him, John noticed Kevin had started crying softly. John frowned in sadness, scooting up onto the bed more and muttering, "Shh, shh, I'm here now..." Kevin reached out and clung to John, his cries growing in volume until he was sobbing against John's side, who had moved onto the bed enough to lay next to him. John hugged Kevin back, letting the other move his head up to his chest, letting those strong little hands grasp his shirt and bunch it up tightly. John laid with Kevin and held onto him, letting tears fall down his own face as he took a moment every now and then to sniffle softly.

After a while, Kevin had calmed down, his rasping wails dwindling down to harsh breaths, his eyes red and his face saturated with tears. John leaned over and grabbed the corner of his blanket, offering it to Kevin, who wiped his face and muttered in a broken sort of voice, "Thanks..." John nodded, lifting his glasses and wiping his own significantly less wet face off with his hands. After a few moments of silence, John risked the question again. "Kevin... What happened to you?" Kevin swallowed and un-balled his hand from John's shirt, trying to smooth the distorted fabric out as he took a steadying breath, and began to recount his experience in a weary, hoarse tone.

Kevin found his mind slowly kicking back into gear as he opened his weary eyes with difficulty. He found himself looking up at the ceiling, his tired mind picking up speed as he fully came to. He made to sit up, but found his head was being held down. He tried to reach up, to see what was keeping him from raising his head, but quickly realized his wrists were bound as well. With panic now flooding his system, Kevin grunted and tugged at the restraints, finding his torso and ankles bound up too. Kevin looked from side to side, feeling some kind of strap running against his forehead as he strained his eyes to look down at his body. He couldn't look down enough to see his body, but he caught sight of his wrists, which were indeed wrapped in thick velcro straps. After another moment of futile struggling, Kevin let himself go limp and sighed roughly, calling out in aggravation, "Okay, I get it, I'll be good from now on. Lemme go and we can all play nice again, okay?" Kevin heard no one in the room with him, and so faced little choice but to wait.

After a while, Kevin heard someone speaking behind the door. Sure enough, the door opened, and the voice, still speaking, stepped in and shut it. Kevin assumed there was someone else with him, as he listened with an immediate expression of distaste. "...Asked me to show him the progress on Walker when I finish up with this... Lemme see," there was the sound of paper being flipped through, "ah, here we go. Kevin Vargas, 14 years old, oh boy, listen to this. Schizophrenia, dissociative personality disorder, insomnia, bipolar, severe anger spikes. How's he not ended up in here yet?" Kevin growled and yelled, "I can HEAR you, asshole!" The doctor was silenced for a moment, and said, "Well, he's woken up now, at least. Let's see what ol' Scratch recommended here... Oh." Kevin definitely did not like the sound of that final syllable, barking out, "What? Can't you just lemme out? I won't hit you across the face, really hard, then kick you in the stomach, and maybe piss on you for good measure, I'll be a good little patient from here on out." Much to his aggravation, the doctor still ignored him, saying, "Well, can't say he doesn't need it... Alright, wheel him out." Kevin snarled at the man who walked by his field of vision, figuring he was the man that was being spoken to.

Kevin felt himself being carted along a hall, unable to see anything but the ceiling and the tops of the walls, and he began to feel fear mingling with his anger. They went through several turns, remaining on the same floor, then Kevin heard another door being opened. A similar-looking room came into view, though Kevin could see this room had some lab equipment around the walls. Now feeling his fear overcoming his anger, Kevin began to wriggle at his restraints again, his voice sharp with panic. "What's this room for? What are you gonna do to me?" Kevin glanced around, unable to recognize any of the equipment, other than some basic medical supplies. The doctor still ignored Kevin, saying to his assistant, "Start the IV, then please switch the ESA on." As the assistant began to unwrap something from its sterile packaging, the doctor finally acknowledged Kevin. "So, you've been causing some trouble around here, have you? From the looks of your records, you don't seem to take well to authority." Kevin grinned, saying, "What gave you that idea?" The doctor passively continued, "It also says you've been defying anyone who has been trying to tell you that your mind has been fabricating things, and you refuse to speak openly to your therapist." Kevin remained silent, and suddenly felt a cold wet swab run against the crook of his elbow, and the assistant said, "Keep still," and quickly slipped an intravenous needle into Kevin's arm. Kevin hissed and gritted his teeth, and felt the assistant taping the plastic base of the needle down. He then connected the IV tube to Kevin's arm, where the liquid inside would keep him hydrated. The doctor waited until the assistant was done, then said, "Mr Vargas, you may not believe that we're trying to help you, but your resistance is not helping you as much as you believe. I'm sorry it had to come to this, but we are going to have to jolt you into your senses."

At the doctor's announcement, Kevin felt fear flood into his system, saying, "Wait, no, c'mon, you're not gonna literally shock me, are you?" The doctor began issuing quiet commands to the assistant, who wheeled over an intimidating machine, and then used a sink somewhere in the room to wet something, coming back over to Kevin and placing some kind of ill-fitting headpiece over his head. Kevin felt two wet, porous fabrics touching each temple, and he began to whimper, tears brimming in his eyes. "Please, God, no, don't do this, I promise I'll be more straightforward, I won't step out of line, please-" The doctor flicked on a switch and adjusted a knob, and said to Kevin, "This is just a test." He pressed a button, and Kevin immediately felt an invisible force contracting his body, causing his muscles to seize up. It was less painful than extremely uncomfortable, and Kevin soon felt the sensation dissipate as the doctor released the switch. Kevin was freely sobbing now, and when the doctor asked, "Did you feel that?" Kevin gasped, and whimpered, "Don't do that again, please..." The doctor said with a sickeningly amused tone, "Oh, we won't be doing that at that low of a setting again. Now, Mr Vargas, I want you to think hard about who you think you are, about the world you believe you experienced. Focus on your delusions." Kevin glared at the doctor, snarling, "I'm not deluded, how many times do I have to-AAAAUUUUUGH!"

The doctor had adjusted the knob as Kevin spoke, and hit the button again. This time, the constricting force was downright wringing Kevin out, twisting and stabbing at his entire body, causing every nerve end of his to scream in agony. The torturous pain lasted for minutes, hours, weeks- Kevin felt his body be released from the electricity's fearsome grip again, this time panting and whimpering weakly. He had only been electrocuted for a few seconds, his body still ringing with agitation. The doctor let him recover for a minute, and said, "This is the pain that your delusions are causing you. Do you want to live with this pain?" Kevin found his mouth was being uncooperative, but managed to gasp out, "It can't... be as... painful as... the stupidity you... must live with..." The doctor muttered something to his assistant, and Kevin suddenly felt a rubber mouthpiece being inserted against his bite. Kevin let out a muffled whimper, and the doctor said simply, "You are a very stubborn boy."

Kevin had never felt such incredible pain in his entire life, the electricity rending his very molecules apart. He convulsed and screamed around the mouthpiece, hoping the electricity would just end his life, just kill him, end this unbearable agony... Kevin was vaguely aware that the electricity had let up, his mind buzzing like a static channel on full volume, unable to tell that he had urinated his pants due to his body feeling numb after going through so much pain. Kevin lay limp, gasping and drooling around the bite. The doctor waited a little longer this time, and asked Kevin, "What is your name?" Kevin didn't even know where he was, he didn't know how he got here, with these strange, hornless aliens standing over him... When the alien asked for his name again, he urged himself to remember, this was important... Another alien removed something he didn't even know he had in his mouth, and he was asked again for his name. He weakly groaned, "M... Muh... My name... is... Karkat..." Whatever he had in his mouth was placed back in, and Kevin was thrust violently back into all-consuming agony.


	5. Chapter 5

[My diet consists purely of reviews, even bad ones. Those just have a more robust flavor.]

John finished listening, his face left with a horror-struck expression. "...Oh my god, that's horrible... Oh, Kevin, I'm so sorry..." John pet Kevin's back as he let the other whimper into his arms. Kevin wasn't crying as hard this time, mostly because he lacked the energy to, but his sad little broken sobs tugged at John's heart, who couldn't imagine the degree of pain Kevin had been put through. Even his memories... imaginings?... of the game session held no sensation nearly akin to the suffering Kevin had described. John stayed with Kevin, waiting until the other settled down some, and then said, "I was worried about you the whole time... I missed you so much..." Kevin looked up at John, his cracked voice barely letting out, "...Really?" John nodded, his wet eyes glistening as he smiled some for Kevin. "I hoped you'd come back every day, as grumpy and thorny as before." Kevin shook at the mere notion of being punished again for his previous attitude, but he managed to grin back and mutter grimly, "I'll save my ornery attitude just for you." John chuckled and hugged Kevin tighter, who returned the hug with his own shaking arms.

After John shared his personal space with Kevin and comforted him so gently, he noticed Kevin began to regain a bit more of his previous personality. He often cracked bitter jokes and made clever little jabs around John, usually regarding patients or the nurses, or his favorite topic of mockery, Doc Scratch. "...A head that's as big as the moon, and about as barren, too," he said, enjoying the reactions he was getting from John. "Stop it, I'm trying to watch this!" John snickered, though the TV movie that was playing was something he had seen a thousand times already. Kevin grinned and continued, "He's so bald, he's like a field of wheat that just got harvested, to make white bread that's as, uh, white as his face!" John laughed again and said, "Man, your burns aren't nearly as good as Dave's, I can imagine he'd give all the doctors hell if he was here..." Kevin stuck his tongue out to the side, groaning out a small "aaagh" to accompany it. "If you love Dave so much, why don't you be his mates-sss..." Kevin's expression changed as his voice trailed off, his face drawing into a similar look as the night he was released from iso. John noticed Kevin went quiet, and looked away from the screen down at him. "What's wrong?" he asked, and Kevin shuddered for a moment. "I can't think of that stuff anymore, I'll hurt myself..." he looked up at John in fear. "Remembering will lead to pain," he stated simply, and John knew then what he meant. "...Okay..." John put an arm around Kevin, drawing him closer and smiling comfortingly down at him. Kevin slowly unwound, and leaned against John quietly. After making sure Kevin was alright, John silently returned to his movie, which was a shitty romantic comedy that cracked a grin from him every now and then. He was unaware that Kevin was gazing at John's body, just taking in the sight of him, and blushing slightly.

Many people who knew him had to admit one bad thing about John: he was incurably clueless when it came to intimate advances. Of course, it didn't help that Kevin was no better at administering them. Despite having been a quadrant expert in his previous life, Kevin the Human had always believed that human affection was much too simple and two-dimensional to be bothered with. His prolonged time with John, though, has been slowly causing him to ease up, bit by bit, into the thought that maybe... he might have... red feelings... for the stupid, gangly boy. Kevin began to feel more flustered when John came by in the mornings to wake him up, feeling more insecure about his near nudity. At first he blamed his own body, finding himself being more flustered with his short stature, his bit of tummy chub, even his darker skin... but when he had answered the door in similar dress for a nurse, he found he couldn't care less about what the other man thought of his body. It was then that Kevin began to get closer to the truth...

John noticed something was different about Kevin. He supposed this wasn't a bad change, for once. He already knew Kevin's prescription had changed en lieu of his recent "therapy"; he had been taken off of his anger meds and been given much milder mood stabilizers, and began behaving more during his therapist visits. Even Doc Scratch himself found little to be concerned about, if one could even call it concern. Despite his improvement, though, John noticed he was a bit easily flustered over small things. John used to make little jabs toward Kevin's looks and attitude, though one day he made a simple little joke about Kevin's hair, and was met with a cranky reply of, "What, what's so bad about it? It's not my fault they think I'm gonna fillet them with a comb, they took that away from me and gave me some kind of fuckin' My Little Pony-lookin' brush..." He even reached up and tried to flatten down his hither-thither hair with his fingers, his face tinged with red. John cocked a brow at Kevin's sudden self-conscious attitude, finding the sudden change a little strange... but also, he turned a little pink at the thought himself, cute.

Kevin began to gift John with little random things, like thrusting his pudding cup at John during dinner, not even looking as he did so. John smiled and said, "Err, thanks, but you can keep it." Kevin still didn't look up at John, muttering sharply, "Just have it." John hesitated for a moment, then gave an appreciative smile. "Thanks."

After that, John began to receive other little things from Kevin, like aggressively painted pictures he made during Art, or angry little poems about various things he hated (John never seemed to end up anywhere in the list), and even a pair of gloves that Kevin had brought to the institution, when the months began to become colder. Being oblivious to any alternatives, John speculated that Kevin's little gifts were merely payback from being a good friend to him. Kevin seemed to be happy whenever John accepted the things he was given, and John kept everything he was given. He began to tape the papers up, and set the little crafts and other miscellaneous things on his bedside table. Kevin had noticed it whenever he came by John's room, his heart swelling as he saw his little tokens of affection being collected by the other. He just wished John would begin to see why he was giving him such things...

One day, John decided to repay Kevin for all the presents he had been given lately, putting his meager art skills to use and drawing a large, slightly haphazard picture of him and Kevin wrapped up in straight jackets and making shadow puppets with their toes with a flashlight. John's feet had nonsensically formed the shadow of the silly Japanese Green Slime Ghost, and Kevin's had formed an angry little crab. John snickered at the picture, and wrote on the bottom, "You're a crazy good friend! (sorry, crappy drawing!)" He debated on drawing Kevin's troll self, but soon after decided against it. He didn't ever want to cause Kevin to experience that he did before...

Sitting in the rare unclaimed bean bag, his small body looking swallowed up in it, Kevin was reading one of the books from the battered old shelf next to him, when he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and noticed John's scheduled Art period was over, setting his book aside and grinning. "Got something to show Daddy, little boy?" he asked, standing from the bean bag and craning to look at the rather large sheet of paper John was holding. John smiled and said, "Yeah I do, in fact. This is for you." Kevin looked fairly surprised at that statement, picking up the paper and looking over it. John watched Kevin eagerly, waiting for his reaction. Kevin looked expressionless for a moment... then began to grin. He let out a little "heh", which soon led to more, and then he started laughing full-on, his rough, barking laughter taking a while to die down. When it did, John grinned and asked sheepishly, "So... You like it?" Kevin snorted and laughed, "This... This is so shitty! Oh my god, look at how you drew my head, oh god. You nailed yourself, though, oh man..." John found himself unphased by Kevin's insults, knowing that was his indirect way of complimenting him. What he did next, however, was fully straightforward in meaning. Kevin suddenly wrapped his arms around John, giving him a rare, genuine smile. "It's great..." he muttered, letting himself hold onto John for a moment. John smiled and hugged Kevin back, saying, "No problem..." Kevin departed from the hug, leaning in again, looking like he was going to move in for something... But his hammering chest and nervous mind wouldn't let him advance any more. Instead, he stammered hotly, "S-stay right here, I'm gonna go hang this legendary piece of shit up onto my wall." John smiled and nodded, taking Kevin's spot in the beanbag chair and watching Kevin's retreating back as he marched off briskly. As he waited for Kevin's return, John couldn't help but wonder why he felt a small pang of... disappointment?

Kevin exhaled in an attempt to steady himself. In his hands was an unfortunate little piece of paper, the poor thing having suffered many folds, crumples, and had even been tossed in the bin and, later, hastily retrieved from it. Kevin had fretted much over this little piece of paper, having written on it a few days ago but wasted time with incessant worrying and fretting over its contents. He had finally steeled himself enough to approach John's door, holding said abused paper in his hands, and was now merely trying to gather enough courage to deliver it to its proper recipient. Kevin gritted his teeth, finding electro-shock therapy only a little more agonizing than this, and finally dropped to his knees. Without trying to think of what he was doing too much, Kevin hastily began to shove the paper down under John's door. It crinkled up, though, and Kevin resisted the urge to cry out in anger as he stuffed the paper further in, the battered thing finally slipping under. Kevin abruptly stood and hit the door with his fist several times, and then ran like hell down the hallway, nearly falling down the stairwell as he sped up to his floor.

John had been cleaning his glasses, though he immediately looked up and slipped them back on when he heard something scrabbling at the bottom of his door. Hearing little suppressed growls of frustration and noticing the worn state of the paper, John grinned as he could easily tell who was on the other side. He watched with amusement as the wrinkled up paper was forcefully fed under the door, and jumped a bit at the knock. John got up as he heard the "mystery person"'s footsteps smacking away down the hall, opening the door in time to see Kevin slip on the stairs and pedal his way up like his life depended on it. Letting himself laugh softly at that, John looked down at the abused little paper on the ground, picking it up and returning to his room as he attempted to smooth it out.

John flopped back down onto his bed, holding the paper straight and immediately recognizing Kevin's handwriting. It seemed to be another list of things he hated, but instead it read, in his usual prickly handwriting, "THINGS THAT DON'T MAKE ME DEVELOP RAGE ULCERS" John grinned and read on, his eyes coasting down the bullet-style list.

-THE MOON WHEN IT'S FULL AND IT MAKES EVERYTHING ALL SILVERY EVEN THOUGH THERE'S ONLY ONE AND SHOULD BE LIKE 2 OR SOMETHING -WHEN THERE'S NOT A FUCKING BABY AT THE MOVIES.  
>-THE WAY MY DAD TELLS ME THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY PROBLEMS ON THIS PLANET BUT I'M NOT ONE OF THEM -THE WAY MY MOM USED TO SING -WHEN IT'S RAINING AND IT JUST COMES DOWN LIKE IT'S TRYING TO KILL US ALL AND IT MAKES THAT SOUND AGAINST MY WINDOW -RARE STEAK -WHEN I BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF THAT KID WHEN HE CALLED ME A MANGY STRAY CAT -HOW I ARRIVED HERE AND YOU IMMEDIATELY CAME UP TO ME LIKE SOME GODDAMN PUPPY IN A PET STORE -WHEN I TREATED YOU LIKE MAGGOTS ON SHIT AND YOU STILL STUCK AROUND LIKE SOME MASOCHISTIC CREEP -YOUR DUMB FUCKING TEETH -YOUR UGLY, DORKY GLASSES -YOUR UNREAL FUCKING BLUE EYES, SERIOUSLY, HOW DO YOU EVEN GET THAT KIND OF EYE COLOR YOU FREAK -YOUR DUMB VOICE -AND LAUGH -YOU<p>

John finished reading the bottom line, his stomach doing an odd sort of back-flip as he re-read the last few lines in the letter. He felt heat travel to his face, and began to finally put things together... He cast his gaze over at Kevin's other gifts, and felt his heart develop a funny sort of feeling. Something he had felt when he was younger and he went to school with that pretty girl in his class... He was beginning to feel love. Love for Kevin. And... John looked down at the note, wondering why tears were welling up in his eyes, of all times. He let out a laugh through his tears, damning himself for being so thick all this time.

Kevin was in love with John.


	6. Chapter 6

[Yeah this is another reason why this fic is in the M rating w]

The next morning, as Kevin laid curled up in his bed, he waited for the arrival of John at his door, both anticipating and fearing it greatly. He had cursed himself in so many expletives last night he wasn't even sure if the ones near the end were actual words, but he still felt a bitter sort of regret... No, not regret, just fear of being rejected. When he heard a knock at the door, he immediately leaped up out of his covers, perched on his bed like a cat about to strike... but he calmed himself, and tried not to appear so desperate. After taking enough care to slip a shirt on, lower half still clad in boxers, he opened the door and felt a blush rise to his face as his deep brown eyes stared into John's brilliant cyan ones.

"Hey, Kevin!" came John's usual chipper greeting, and Kevin bit his lip, muttering, "Yeah, hey..." John had a feeling the other was being coy due to his indirect confession last night, and John wasn't quite sure himself how to address it. He looked away from Kevin's gaze, looking into the boy's room and noticing the picture he had made, taped carefully onto the wall. He smiled at that, saying, "I'm glad you liked my gift. I, uh, liked the thing you gave me last night too. It was really sweet..." Kevin fumbled with his fingers, saying, "It was just something I threw together..." He was lying; he had gone through many other drafts, the one gifted to John being the one that made him want to hang himself the least.

John smiled and said, "You had a good point with a lot of that stuff... I'm, uh, glad you like... me..." John had stumbled onto that subject before he was fully aware he had, but there was no turning back. Kevin gave a little aggravated grunt, muttering, "I understand if you think I'm stupid for being so gay to you, though..." At that moment, John seriously considered to himself whether he should advance or abscond... He felt something strange welling up inside of him, a sense of... uncaring? It was definitely that, though he wasn't sure what towards... He looked down at Kevin, who was looking more miserable with himself each moment, and John knew he wasn't uncaring about the boy himself in the least. In fact, this sensation was indifference towards... the fact that a boy liked him. John realized then that he had just thrown away his sexual preference. No, not quite... He had just made an exception for the boy standing in front of him.

John's unusually long silence made Kevin feel more awkward, and he took the others reaction as a response to his previous words. Feeling tears well up in his eyes, he turned, before John could see, and growled, "Right, well, I'm sorry I wasted your time on that-" His shoulder was gently grabbed, and Kevin was turned back to face John, who was now gazing intensely at him. "You wasted time not telling me sooner," John said, and, before he could find the sense to stop himself, he leaned down and gave Kevin a gentle kiss on the lips.

Kevin let that happen, his body freezing up, his stomach turning and his body stiffening, letting those lips linger there, the ones he had imagined so many times before... John pulled away, and Kevin suddenly threw his arms up around John's shoulders, pulling him in for a much more intimate, lip-locking kiss. As soon as John began to feel Kevin's tongue sliding across his lips, he managed to come to his senses, and looked around at where they were. Right out in the goddamn hallway, that's where. He muttered in a different sort of lower pitch, "N-nhh, not here, lemme in..." Kevin could hardly believe that his wish was quickly becoming granted, as he let John into his room eagerly.

As soon as the door clicked closed, both boys seemed to return to each other with equal fervor. Kevin had to stretch up, John had to lean down some, but their lips quickly met again, this time with no restrictions between them. John opened his mouth and let Kevin eagerly dive in with his tongue, the smaller boy running his tongue along John's and feeling the other boy's own tongue respond by gingerly entering into his own mouth. Kevin let out a low, hoarse groan at the sensation, his posture weakening as he pressed his front harder against John's. John felt Kevin's physical reaction through his meager lower coverage, blushing but falling more into their mutual lust. He let out a much smoother, gentle moan into Kevin's mouth, and they were clutching each other, senselessly licking and nipping at each others' mouths, gasping and letting themselves groan in desire as their hands traveled along each others body.

When their frantic making out had begun to turn unpleasantly messy, the two boys left each others mouths, still gasping and letting their heads reel with the surreal feeling of it all. Kevin's hands were still traveling, though, feeling at John's lean, lanky body through his clothing. John glanced over at Kevin's bed, his mind abandoning all reason. "Let's... Let's sit..." John muttered, taking Kevin's wrist and gently pulling him over. Kevin easily complied, watching as John sat down, and quickly climbed onto the taller boy's lap. He figured he had the best seat in the nuthouse at that moment, taking no time to close the distance between them as clung to John in a desperate sort of way. John expected Kevin to go for his mouth again, but instead, he found his neck quite suddenly assaulted by the others mouth. He let out a surprised moan, not quite used to the strange, rather slimy sensation that was Kevin sucking and raking his teeth against his sensitive neck skin, the darker boy making his way down John's pale skin, lingering on his collarbone. John let out a rather non-sexual, "Ow!" at the sudden bite he had received from the other, though he had to let himself laugh at his reaction. "No biting, please," he said, and Kevin glared up at John in a feral manner. "Nnngh, killjoy," he growled, but silently committed that to memory.

Beginning to feel exploratory himself, John grinned and let his hands drift down to the bottom of Kevin's shirt, noticing no signs of objection from the other aside from a deep blush of insecurity. John couldn't help but find that absolutely adorable, and leaned in to kiss Kevin sweetly in reassurance, before pulling that shirt up and off the others body. Kevin lifted his arms and let John remove the top, finding that the baggy shirt was pretty much the only thing that had been hiding the extent of his desire. John smiled down at the aggressively shy boy, muttering, "You're adorable..." Kevin was about to object rashly to such a stupid thing to call him, but his speech was rendered useless from another groan escaping his mouth as John's head ventured down to his chest. Kevin leaned back against John's supporting arms around his back, letting John return the oral favor against his body. John himself found it rather fun to kiss and suck against Kevin's soft little body, finding his pectorals and arms layered with muscle, but the rest of his torso pleasantly plush to the touch. He experimentally licked along Kevin's nipple, which had already been perked along with its twin for a while now. John smiled at the little shivers and grunts coming from the other, letting his tongue circle the semi-rigid skin and finding a hand addressing the other. Kevin gasped and managed to stammer, "Lay... Lay on the bed, please..."

John had complied and spread out onto the bed, unsure of what the boy was going to do to him. Kevin left him little time to wonder, though, as he had left John's lap to allow him to adjust his position, and was now reclaiming his spot on top of him. This time, though, he scooted down John's lap, until his head was in between John's thighs, his hands resting on John's hips. John looked down the length of his torso at Kevin, his eyes widening as he figured out what Kevin was going to do. "Oh-Oh man, Kevin, you sure?..." Kevin grimaced and muttered, "Shut up... I've, uh, n-never done this before, but..." Kevin's fingers fumbled at John's shorts button, his trembling hands having a bit of trouble complying at the moment. He eventually undid John's front, and swallowed nervously as he gazed upon the others modest white briefs; his own lower half jolted pleasantly as he found he was able to see the others phallic outline against them. His hands traced along the hem of the underwear, and Kevin cast a quick glance up at John's flustered face before he slid the hem down.

Kevin exposed John's semi-flaccid member, letting out a shaky breath as he felt his own rock-hard cock give an eager twitch, encouraging him to reach out and gently pick the fragile organ up. John bit his lower lip as he watched the first boy in his life put his hands around his cock, unable to stop the sudden flow of blood now surging down to it. Kevin spent a moment just holding the pulsing, wrinkled thing, finding the strange ugliness of it even more alluring, somehow. When he gave the pliable, soft skin a few strokes, he smiled some as John let out a soft moan, and felt the organ itself expanding to his movements, the pulse running strong beneath his fingers. Kevin continued to gently stroke and pump at it, feeling the strange sensation of soft, stretchy skin over hard, tense muscle. John's full length was a little more than Kevin had expected, which was certainly no let down on his part. After another moment of inexperienced hesitation, Kevin leaned his head down this time, his deft fingers holding John's cock up at the base, and let his tongue coast down the bottom of John's length, then back up, the tip of his tongue sweeping over the others flushed cock head, taking special care to run against all the contours the whole way. John had his hand up to his mouth, letting out brief gasps of arousal, as he watched the incredibly hot scene unfolding before him; the way Kevin looked as he was handling John's member, that blush, and the way he was shyly debating his next actions. When Kevin bravely slipped John's full length into his mouth, though, John fell back onto the bed, gasping and groaning from the wet, soft skin enveloping his cock. Kevin was gasping through his nose, lightly rustling John's black pubic hair, and it let him take in the others strong, musky scent, the taste of his most intimate region filling his mouth and sweeping his mind into hormonal overdrive. Kevin found he desired, need, John's release quite as badly as he did, and so set on slipping that hot, hard member in and out of his pursed lips, his tongue flexing continuously along John's velvety skin. He loved the feeling of the others cock head bumping and prodding at the back of his mouth, the mellow taste of John's precum registering on his working tongue. It still wasn't enough for the irreversibly horny boy, though, as he reached one hand into John's underwear, and proceeded to feel up the accompanying pair of balls near his chin. He was careful not to squeeze too hard, but he let his fingers knead and fondle at the soft pair, enjoying the soft, curly hair that covered them. He was in heaven right now, and he expressed such to John by moaning and gasping around the boy's cock. John could hardly believe how much pleasure the inexperienced boy was causing him, partly because it was someone other than himself having their way with his genitals, but also because, for never having done this before, Kevin was GOOD.

When John felt himself nearing climax, he let out a more urgent moan, muttering, "Nn-Nnh, K-Kevin, I'm-" He was too embarrassed to complete that, but merely implying so was enough to send him over the edge, into Kevin's unexpectant mouth. Rather than accept John's spurts of jizz like a pro, Kevin sputtered and gagged as he found his mouth suddenly full of what he best compared to pungent mucus. John panted and looked at Kevin blearily, a weary grin lazily crossing his face as he watched Kevin spit his release out and wipe his mouth with the previously discarded shirt, the boy also seeming a little out of breath as well. John asked him, "You... okay?..." Kevin tossed the shirt aside and grumbled, "That'll take some getting used to..." John watched as Kevin got up, noticing he had a prominent wet spot all over the front of his boxers. Kevin crossed his room to the small sink on the opposite wall, washing his mouth out and then returning, his face considerably less displeased-looking. John smiled and took Kevin's short time absent to tuck his lower area back in, rubbing his underwear against his cock to dry it some. When Kevin returned to the bedside, John smiled and scooted over, giving Kevin room to lay next to him. Kevin immediately proceeded to paste himself against John's side, wrapping his arms around the other's upper torso, and snuggled his head against John's armpit, the others body odor being a welcome, comforting smell to him. John reached his arm over to grab up Kevin's hand in his, letting silence stretch between the two. After a few minutes, the quiet was broken between them, by Kevin muttering, "...I love you." John let that sink in for a moment, then smiled. "I love you too."

Elsewhere, a certain hairless doctor left his chair, turning and looking out the window. His plans were working well so far, feeling his influence beginning to seep into the Egbert boy's mind. Slowly, he was dislodging the boy's belief that the game session had happened, glad that it wasn't taking nearly as much effort as the damned Vantas- ah, no, he was Vargas here- boy, but he, too, was slowly beginning to crack. With a rare grin, Doc Scratch strode across his office and exited it, locking the door and striding along the corridors. He felt their aggravating bond strengthening, though, and it caused him concern that they were only getting closer. There were still a few tricks up his sleeve, though, a few sleights of hand he had yet to administer... And once the two boys would be rendered their most helpless, he would stake them both.

Erasing the evidence of his origins will take time, he knew, but it would be worth it, once no one will be left to stop him... and his master.


End file.
